Abstract

The availability of data feeds, the demand for news on digital devices, and advances in algorithms are helping to make automated journalism more prevalent. This article extends the literature on the subject by analysing professional journalists’ experiences with, and opinions about, the technology. Uniquely, the participants were drawn from a range of news organizations—including the BBC, CNN, and Thomson Reuters—and had first-hand experience working with robo-writing software provided by one of the leading technology suppliers. The results reveal journalists’ judgements on the limitations of automation, including the nature of its sources and the sensitivity of its “nose for news”. Nonetheless, journalists believe that automated journalism will become more common, increasing the depth, breadth, specificity, and immediacy of information available. While some news organizations and consumers may benefit, such changes raise ethical and societal issues and, counter-intuitively perhaps, may increase the need for skills—news judgement, curiosity, and scepticism—that human journalists embody.

Publication Type:

Article

Additional Information:

Accepted version is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Thurman, N., Doerr, K. & Kunert, J. (2017). When Reporters get Hands-on with Robo-writing: Professionals Consider Automated Journalism’s Capabilities and Consequences. Digital Journalism, which is to be published in final form at http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rdij20/current. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.